The sun rises with us ready to begin our first full day in the capital city of Uganda. Adonai is a great guesthouse but we're quickly learning the challenge of sharing two bathrooms between 10 people. Thankfully I have been able to wake up around 6 am every morning sans alarm, which means I usually don't have a wait. Oh, and what's this? Hot water? That's a nice perk, especially for a morning shower.
I was one of the day leaders today and first on our agenda was BeadforLife - a great organization that I recommend to everyone. Our main objective of the day was to understand the emphasis on small business and experience two different approaches or business models. BeadforLife depends on external funds and markets, while a place such as Nakasero (where I ate grasshoppers) is locally based and dependent. Before this gets too wordy, I'll show you some pictures.
BeadforLife welcomed our group with a song and dance.
In an attempt to summarize, BeadforLife seeks out women who live in extreme poverty yet show great drive and ambition. They recruit them to their bead-making program, which uses recycled paper to make jewelry & now Shea butter soap products. During this 18 month program, the women learn valuable life and entrepreneurial skills. They start their first savings accounts and work with others to brainstorm business ideas. While they are making and selling beads, most of the women increase their income by 5-6x what they had previously earned. At the end of the 18 month program, the women graduate and begin a small business of their own within the community or find alternate revenue streams. So far, they are operating at a 60% post program success rate.
BeadforLife also funnels a majority of its earnings back into the local area via various community development programs. To learn the details of these click here: BeadforLife CD Programs!
Women in class
Shea soap making process:
Stringing beads
Bead Jewelry!
Needless to say, I dropped quite a few shillings here.
After we were done making our purchases we piled back in the van and headed off to the US Peace Corps office. They gave a great presentation after a brief office tour. They spoke about their experiences and issues that were unique to Peace Corps Uganda. We were grateful for their open and honest answers. There was only 1 muzungu (white person) there, a young linguist from the University of Michigan.
The Peace Corps currently have 154 volunteers in the country of Uganda. At present, they are focusing on education, community health, and Peace Corps Initiatives - women in development/gender issues and youth related activities.
They were a great group of people that were doing their best to recruit us!
On the way home, William takes us on a short cut. This happens to be directly through a slum area, our first time viewing these conditions. It was a harrowing drive through extreme poverty and a narrow, bumpy road. We definitely had an "off the tarmac" experience more than once.
There were a few times that we thought for sure we would end up in one of the waste streams bordering the roadway. If a vehicle was coming in our direction, one of us would have to find a way to get off the road. Luckily we got out with minimal damage. William accidentally hit a wheelbarrow as we approached a main road and dented the back of the van.
The kids, however, were greatly amused by our presence. This was evidenced by their dancing and singing, "The white people have come."
Notice the waste (all forms) in the ditch to the left.
By now it's late afternoon and we only have a couple of hours before the sun sets. Since we're on the equator, the sun rises and falls at the same time everyday. 7am sunrise & 7pm sunset, with no real transitionary period. By 7pm it is dark.
Torches in hand, we walk back into town a bit and eat at a different Ethiopian restaurant. Not as good as the previous one but we leave sated and head back to Adonai for a glass of wine out on the balcony before officially calling it a night.
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